4 Hours to kill...in San Francisco

Hello All,

I have 4 1/2 hours in San Fran, on our way to L.A in the month of August. I always wanted to see the famous and beautiful sites

( fisherman%26#39;s wharf, alcatraz, the golden gate bridge ect.) but I don%26#39;t know how long it will take to catch a cab from San Fran Inter. Airport...or how long customs will take??? Any Idea%26#39;s???

Much Appreciated,

Lorraine

4 Hours to kill...in San Francisco

I don%26#39;t know how much time to estimate for customs these days.

A cab from SFO to the Golden Gate Bridge ought to take about 30 minutes. I%26#39;d suggest, that depending on how much time you have once you get out of customs, is to go directly there, park at the toll plaza, walk out there and get your pictures and come back via Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf. You can return via the Embarcadero, going all along the waterfront, and back onto the freeway back to the airport.

4 Hours to kill...in San Francisco

Lorraine,

I cannot help you regarding the length of time to clear customs.

There isn%26#39;t too much you can do per se in just 4-1/2 hours. It is my belief that unless you hire a personal driver, you%26#39;re not going to be able to get to the Golden Gate Bridge and some of the other sites, and get back to the airport on time. A ferry ride to Alcatraz is pretty much out of the question.

The flag drop for a taxi from the airport is $5.10 ($3.10, plus $2 airport surcharge), and 45 cents per 1/5 mile and 45 cents per minute.

A lower cost alternative is to take BART, the regional rail transit system. BART stops at the International terminal. Round-trip from the airport to downtown San Francisco is $10.30.

Buy a BART ticket at the fare machine, and hop on BART headed for Dublin/Pleasanton. You%26#39;ll want to get off at the Embarcadero station, which is the FINAL San Francisco stop. Trip time: about 35 minutes, not counting wait time.

Head for the historic Ferry Building, and look around there if you%26#39;d like. When done, proceed to move either north or south along the Embarcadero. If you are a baseball fan, walk south (toward the Bay Bridge), and you%26#39;ll hit AT%26amp;T Park within 15 minutes or so, at a brisk pace. Red%26#39;s Java House is on the way, and it%26#39;s where some of the ballplayers stop by to pick up something on their way to the park.

Or, take the historic F trolley cars going north along the Embarcadero, with a destination at Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf. It%26#39;s $1.50 one-way-- get a free transfer from the operator, which will allow you a free ride within a two-hour window. Travel time should be about 15 minutes, sans waiting time.

You%26#39;re not going to have time to do much in Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf except to look around. Maybe you can have something to eat on the go, as there are a lot of concession stands in the area. When you%26#39;re done looking, take the F trolley back to the Ferry Building, and take BART back to the airport-- look for the destination sign SFO/Millbrae.

Note: although you did not mention anything about the cable cars, it is possible to ride the cable cars to and from downtown San Francisco to the Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf area. Cable cars cost $5 one-way, with no free transfers issued. So, it%26#39;s $10 roundtrip. Trip time on the cable car is about 25 minutes to Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf, not counting wait time.

If you wish to do this, take BART to Powell Street instead of the Embarcadero.

I hope this helps.

rjg

Take BART to Civic Center. Go to Ninth Street to get a taxi to the Golden Gate Bridge; keep the taxi to take you to Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf. From there, take a streetcar to the Ferry Building and, from there, BART back to The Airport. Easily done in three hours.

Ways to get from The Airport to Your Hotel may be found at http://geocities.com/touoringsfo/FromSFO.html